The Art and Adventures of Desray, a kiwi discovering the USA

Road Trip East

2013-07-03T14:27:00.001-07:00

Left Bend, Wednesday 19th June. Up at 6am and in the car and off at 7am, destination Idaho Falls. It was a big drive, 9.5 hours, I wanted to make a dint in the mileage. The kids were great.

Next day we headed for Yellowstone National Park. Of course I took the wrong turn so instead of taking the most direct route, I in all my glory took the long route. So off we toddle, through the Grand Teton National Park, which was beautiful. Brent tells me there was only about 30 miles between the fast route and the slow one. The slow one was also windy, single lane, slow going - all round. I think it added another couple of hours to our trip at least.

Yellowstone was pretty cool too, thousands of people, watched a movie about the geyser and they mentioned New Zealand of course with the Pohutu geyser in Rotorua. Waited and waited for old faithful to blow, it was about 20 minutes late, but it was pretty spectacular. Left via the north entrance, which was where it was all happening. Beautiful colours, a few bison off in the distance. Mammoth hot springs seems a good base if you wanted to spend a few days. One thing that did surprise me was that they don't do the yogi bear thing. I know it wasn't strictly Yellowstone, its what I associate with it though. Paid $4.01 for petrol, the highest price it can get up to in Bend. Thought it wasn't too awful.

Stayed the night in Billings, Montana. What I really loved about the highway there is that you can travel at 75 miles an hour, that's 120km! You can gobble up a lot of miles at that speed. I felt like rubbish (crook/sick), by the time we get to Billings, full of sinuses, and it moved quickly down to my throat and chest. So stayed two nights there, which was right up the kids alley and gave me time with plenty of naps to get on top of it.. We were in the 1st KOA (Kampgrounds of America), it was a pretty nice set up. Beautiful warm swimming pool, great facilities, they even cater at night if you don't want to cook or leave camp. Plus they sold icecreams at an outside venue until 9pm.

Oh yeah they also had these bikes, the kind where you sit at almost ground level and peddle out front, little steering wheel etc. Well our girl had her heart set on riding one of them. $6 for half an hour (mean mother that I am) said that is way too much, and there are many things you can do with $6. Well she said, when I heard it was $6 my hopes were up to here (waist height) and then when I went to bargain with him and offer $3 for half an hour, my hopes were sky high. Then he said he would like to but he wasn't allowed, then my hopes were dashed. I said oh well, you know what? I think that would be a great project for you and dad to work on, that's right up his alley, figuring out how to do it with you. So she quickly replied, well I'll need pen and paper and I can do some designs, we can get an old bike from the goodwill (hoko hook/second hand shop) and ..... So she was happy again, and she and her dad now have a project to work on.

Discovered that petrol is really cheap here, because this is where it all comes from. Cheapest we paid was $3.50 although we saw $3.22, I had already filled up though. Next destination Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument in Montana. Wow, really loved it. They had a great descriptive movie showing with Indian tribal relatives and historians. The Indians sure got hard done by. The memorial stones really created a somber atmosphere and the Indian tribute was pretty neat too, except they were filming someone interviewing a member and no doubt descendant of one of the Indian tribes, so we didn't get to hang out there for long. Quite a highlight of the trip so far for me. Loved it.

Next destination, South Dakota, Mt Rushmore, just in time as the rain really set in.

We're happily driving along and hear a bang, something like a stone hitting the car. A quick look around us reveals nothing. Next minute we were surrounded by hail, about the size of peanut m&m's, totally covering the road, it looked like it went from rainy to thick snow all over the road, thick and completely white. Bizarre. Cars pulled up all over the place. Hazard lights flashing. Bradley remarked, mum, this is where your skid car training comes in! I agree.

So sheltered up from the weather in Moorcroft, Wyoming the first place or little town we could find in the middle of nowhere, in a little motel room, clean, comfortable, warm and out of the weather. We got sprinkled on during out last camping night, so we're also drying out our camping gear. The weather looks better tomorrow and we'll continue happily on our way. A little behind schedule and we probably won't make it to Vermont, however we'll have a good time along the way.

Apparently the weather IS going to play hardball with us. Lots of rain expected, so yet again we are sheltering in a motel. The Rodeway Inn, Austin, Minnesota. Not the cheapest I could find, the next. When we pulled up to the first place the children both went no. So this one I thought ok, lets just do it. And what a lovely surprise. It is spacious and freshly painted, carpeted, new covers, beds feel good. Strong internet, nice bathroom. It's a great deal and we are all happy.

Continue on to South Dakota, Mt Rushmore and really enjoyed viewing the four carved Presidents. Rather interesting to see that the majority of the carving was created with explosives, and somewhat sad that the German designer and carver died before the final dedication. Pleased he pretty much saw it through though. 17 years is a good portion of ones life. They were an impressive feat, especially when one considers the technology they had at hand, and what we have nowadays.

Next stop, Mitchell and the Corn Palace. Stayed in the nicest KOA campground. The first ever KOA seemed to charge for everything. This one was run by two older men, they made fresh coffee in the morning and offered it, just as a nice thing to do. They left the golf clubs out so everyone was able to help themselves when they wanted, no charge, AND something that was right up Reagan's alley, they offered the same bikes for $3.50 a half hour. She was stoked, and Brent encouraged her to take a ride (then she'll really know if she wants to make one). So the kids swam, played golf and had a bike ride. Of course we rounded the night off with a family golf competition, I really thought I was going to take it, until the final hole, that was a tough one. In the end, we were all pretty even. Good fun.

Only did a drive by of the corn palace early this morning, it was quite impressive. 5th of June they had stripped and replaced all the outer picture panels. Loved it, I wonder how long it takes to organize these huge panels all constructed with corn, husks and all (which makes these beautiful cream/tan pictures). Nativity scene, soldiers, patterns etc, quite amazing.

On the way to Wisconsin Dells, which I'm thinking I can drive in one day, I notice a sign. De Smets, South Dakota, Laura Ingalls Wilder. So when I stop for fuel, I ask one of the girls, who obviously has no idea about much, but she points me in the direction of a man who does. He said it's 50 miles north of here (in the wrong direction for our trip) and it's worth it. So off we toddle. Wisconsin Dells is out the window. However we did do a wonderful Historic Homes tour, with the original surveyors cottage the Ingalls Wilder family lived in. The surveyors cottage must have felt like heaven after seeing what the size of a shanty would have been, I'm estimating 10ft x 10ft. We also got to see the school the Ingalls Wilders went to and then the final house that pa built. So interesting.

This evening we have already had thunder, lightening and rain. Just checked the forecast and they are expecting flooding in southern Wisconsin, which was where we were heading - to go to Wisconsin Dells and the largest water park in the USA. Have decided that we don't need to get ourselves caught up in flooding, so we'll head further north and bypass the Dells. Reagan is disappointed, maybe we'll fit it in on the way home instead. So next stop Michigan and Lake Superior.

The kids have been great, I really think that they think this road trip is cool. All it took was to get going. We have been so lucky and seen so much. Just makes you realize how much more there is to see.

Disneyland and the reality.....

2012-05-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

California was an experience. Loved where we stayed, away from all the hustle and bustle. Caught a shuttle into Disneyland each day we had tickets for it. It was really nice to be able to watch my family and have the focus on them. It was fun to observe them seeing things for the first time. What a mad house though, people everywhere!

Highlights were Disneyland, of course. Medieval times for me, Universal Studios for my husband especially. I loved UCLA, the grounds are beautiful, lots of trees and the red and cream brick. Rodeo drive - no stars, well we didn't recognise any, saw a very very fancy car though, and lots of expensive shops and guards. Venice beach was an eyeopener, muscle beach looked recently renovated and we saw Gordon Ramsey filming Master Chef on the beach.

Met a kiwi guy who is in the film industry - working on the Gordon Ramsey site. He said that he wished he'd given himself more time to decide what career he wanted, the film industry is tough and the wrong fit for him. He has a huge loan to pay off though, so has to grind away at it until he can afford to move in a different direction.

And I was pleased we found John Waynes star on the Hollywood walk of fame - there were plenty of others too like Michael Jackson etc right nearby. Great for tourists, although the locals just walked over the top like it was nothing, and that is how it is when you are around stuff like that everyday.

There were things we didn't get to do. As we said to the kids, well that is something that you can bring your families here to do. Lord knows I won't be in a rush to get back to the madhouse.

Most times, we would be doing the speed limit, and it would look like we were crawling, other cars would be just zapping by us at incredible speeds, in and out and all over the place. Thank goodness my husband was driving, I had to cover my eyes at times it was that fast and furious. Yes, felt like a real country bumpkin!

For Disneyland we had a three day pass and California Adventure which is right next door. It was wonderful to watch the children thrill in being there and seeing a lot of what there is to see. People everywhere, colours, smells and sights that threaten to overload ones senses. Good walking shoes are a must! They loved the rides, they loved the shops, the evening fireworks and commentary are fantastic, the light show on the river was spectacular and dramatic. Even though we had the three day passes, and we made good use of them, we did not get to ride every ride or see everything!

I suppose I have a little bone to chew with Disneyland. It is a magical place, what they do they do well, however the queues were so long! We made good use of the fast passes, and not all rides had them. Still the waiting time was huge. 40 minutes, 60 or even 80 minutes is way too long. That limits the number of rides one can physically fit into a day and when you compare it to the length of the ride you want to take, it's ridiculous. I believe that they have to do something about that, either add more rides or limit the number of people they let in on any given day. I see a lot of money being made, perhaps that is all they care about.

Sometimes I wonder - do our children appreciate what they have done and seen? I know they have enjoyed it all. I see the looks on their faces. Do they appreciate the opportunities presented though? Perhaps when they are older they will look back and go wow, we were so lucky. I know I look back on my own childhood and think how lucky I was. Being allowed to be a kid, having mum and dad present in our lives, lots of family outtings together, that was lucky. May our children have the same feelings.

Disney! Here we come.....

2012-04-01T21:32:00.001-07:00

USA and Disney, two words that are kind of synonymous to each other. That is, when you are from overseas. And so the time has come to take our two to Disneyland.
We were invited to join three other families on this trip. That is a fantastic opportunity for out two to share the experience with friends and will make it a whole different kind of experience for them.
And so the planning began...
Where to stay?
Everyone did their own bookings, kind of finding what was a good fit for them. Well I looked and looked, compared prices and what did I discover? This was going to be a rather expensive exercise. So then I looked a little further out, what caught my eye was the Embassy Suites. We have stayed at the Embassy Suites once before, and loved it. The value for money was great for us. First of all it was less expensive than closer to Disneyland, we were able to get two double/queen sized beds in one room AND a fold out couch.

Our two are boy and girl, they are at an age where they don't actually want to share a bed, unless necessary. The thought of having a bed each made the stay a whole lot easier. No fights, just a great sleep. The initial thought was that our teenage son would have the fold out bed.

The next great thing for us, was the breakfast. Made to order eggs and omelets, plus a huge variety of other breakfast items that started the day off perfectly. Then there was the shuttle to Disney, which took the pain out of driving there yourself. $5 each per day and you were able to go back and forwards as often as you like. Then there was the managers happy hour, free drinks and nibbles from 5.30pm until 7pm, that is something nice to wind down with, and since you aren't driving to Disney, it leaves you free to have a glass of something nice.

Planning our itinerary
Combining with three other families can be a lot like making a decision in Parliament or Senate. Lots of different ideas all going at once. It all came together quite nicely. We were all arriving on Sunday and leaving on Friday.
Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to Disneyland and California Adventure.
Wednesday was a day out by ourselves to explore, I had plenty I wanted to cover;
* Venice Beach - checking out Muscle Beach, the surf and sand, the stores, just one of those things you have to see at least once.
* UCLA - I love taking the family to explore the local university. If it inspires them that's great.
* Rodeo Drive - just another one of those places you have to see at least once.
* Sunset Boulevard
* Hollywood walk of fame
* Hollywood sign
* Hollywood Forever Cemetary
* Star Gaze at Griffith Observatory
According to google maps, the round trip would be driven in two hours, sounded good to me.
* Medieval Times Dinner that evening
Thursday Universal studios and then back to Disneyland in the evening.
Friday Drive to Monterey Bay and walk along the waterfront

Saturday Monterey Bay Aquarium then home

Now, when we plan a trip, I also plan our meals. The other families were aware that this is just how we do it, although we were also happy to eat out, just not all the time. Cooking your own meals saves money and because all the preparation is done at home (I go through each dish and put the ingredients into sealed bags for example, the rice, herbs, seasongings into one bag, the wine vinegar into a small screw top jar. Then all I do when it is time to make the mango chicken is put them in the crock pot and turn it on) it is super quick and easy and tastes great! Staying at the Embassy Suites made meals a lot easier, well it meant I didn't have to even think about breakfast, which is a good thing.

We have a plug in car fridge which is fantastic when you head into warm weather. Plus I took an electric frypan and small crockpot, both are worth their weight in gold and you can cook anything in them.

So our meal planner went as follows;
Breakfast At the hotel - yeah, can't wait!

Lunch Each person was responsible for preparing their own lunch consisting of a sandwich and then a choice of fruit, fruit cup, cookie or biscuit, bottle of water, a couple of mini sized chocolates, snack sized chips etc. The children were also given $5 a day for an icecream (which is how much they cost at Disneyland) or to spend as they saw fit, if they chose not to spend that was fine.

Main meals;
Saturday Tortilla wraps and beef stew that I made the previous day, accompanied by salad. We took two days to drive down, it was a 15 hour drive in total. The others chose to drive it in one go, we wanted to be feeling good when we got there so broke the drive up.

Sunday This is the night that all four families met up, so we ate dinner out together.

Monday Spaghetti bolognaise and salad - I made this a couple of days before we left and froze it. Just had to cook the spaghetti and heat the Spag Bog.

Tuesday Chicken cooked in our electric frypan, with potatoes, sweet potato and carrots, plus salad. Once again I froze the chicken and it defrosted in the fridge during our stay.

Wednesday Dinner at Medieval Times

Thursday Toasted Sandwiches and salmon slices, yum!

Friday Chicken, mango rice (I was going to buy fresh chicken breasts for this recipe)

Saturday Corned beef (I froze the corned beef so that it would travel well, then it defrosted in the fridge during out stay) with beetroot and salad.

Corvallis flooding, January 2012

2012-01-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

Drove into town today. Sick of the rain and all that water around the house. Town looked much better, well drier anyway. Went to check on a friend who had earlier been filling sand bags, fortunately the water in the stream behind their house had receded and all was well. They had taken footage of the stream in full flood and it looked pretty impressive. Still it seemed to be back to normal and business as usual.

Our house has water kind of all around. The back paddock is flooded right up to our door step. The poor old water trough (which was full and just out the garden gate), has long floated away. We have water up to the side pavers and flowing by the kitchen. One of the half rounds from alongside the driveway has been swept up and away.

Today our bridge was very popular. There is a river monitoring station by our house and the monitoring people were here all day. They returned at the end of the day and called out a hello while I was standing out back. It was one of the guys we had met a couple of years ago when we first moved in here. He said they had people coming by all day saying they had lived here all their lives and never seen it like this. I think that is why it took them so long to gather their data. At one stage there were at least half a dozen cars lined up and out jumped all these photographers. We were quite the freak show.

Anyway, the kids have just discovered that....school is closed, the entire district is closed tomorrow due to the flooding. Apparently there are a heap of roads with excess water, and about half a dozen that are closed altogether. Talk about celebrations at our house. They truely do think they have won the lottery.

Just one problem, Reagan, who wore her gumboots to school today and raced to wheel the wheelie bin through all the puddles this afternoon (for tomorrow mornings early rubbish pick up) has just discovered that one of her boots has a hole! But I want to go play in the puddles! So this is the only major emergency - can we fix her gumboots so she can indulge in a bit of puddle jumping tomorrow?

Watching traffic go down our road is just like watching tv - we can see quite a way down where the road is flooded. Lots of vehicles plow through, some stop, many turn around. Lots of lights flashing, cars turning all over the place. I think I would be a turn around girl myself. Wouldn't like to plunge into flood water in the dark. I don't think half of them would even see where the road was at this stage, its so murky.

We are presently on water conservation, not so much consumption of, just not flushing the toilet too often or taking long showers etc. The house owner said the only thing to worry about is the septic tank. With the flooding it might just not handle things. I must confess to being the worst offender in the house. I flush and then realise what I have done. Must pay more attention!

Fortunately we woke to receding water. Let's see what the day brings in terms of rain. Trust the sun is shining in your slice of paradise. Desray

10 year old daughters birthday "spa" party

2012-01-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

Took a rest from painting and coffee trivets to plan and impliment our daughters 10th birthday party. Many ideas were discussed including a bowling party, hiring the local swim pool, horse riding etc. What won the day was a spa party involving making bath bombs/fizzies, face masks, cleopatra bath salts, body glitter, nail polish and makeup. There was stuff I bought that wasn't really necessary, when you are reading through recipes etc on the net, people add a lot of extras. I will list the basic recipes we used further on. The end result was a lot of fun had be everyone, plenty of smiles, lots of laughter.

Thinking that the girls would whisk through each moment at pace, I figured that two hours would be good. Probably all I would be able to cope with and plenty enough for them. Wrong. Ten year old girls enjoy the process as much as older girls. They are of an age where naming and decorating a simple paper bag becomes a work of love. So three hours would have been more likely.

There were some great photo opportunities too, so keep your camera at the ready. The other thing is a bit of back up. Fortunately my wonderful husband and our 13 year old son were fantastic. They assisted clearing the table, wiping up spilt ingredients and general handing out of what ever was needed - paper towels, wipes, drinks etc. These two guys were worth their weight in gold, they were great.

I gathered a lot of the basic info from the internet and am grateful for it all being available. Having something the girls can do while waiting for everyone to turn up was a wonderful idea. Each participant was invited to bring their bath robe and slippers for comfort. This is how the order of events went;
1. Write name on/decorate a paper lunch bag - we weren't having goody bags full of candy/lollies, however the girls were making things and the bags were a good way for them to transport these home. I did find some very pretty face cloths, adding one to each bag before they left.
2. Bath fizzy's
3. Face masks
4. Cleopatra's bath salt
5. Body glitter
6. Make up
7. Nails
8. Afternoon tea and cake

BATH FIZZY or BATH BOMB
The girls worked in pairs, and were very caring about sharing. This quantity produced one sizeable bath bomb per girl or three small ones. The golden rule is to always keep mixing while adding ingredients and break up lumps that form.
Ingredients;
1/4 cup citric acid
1/2 cup baking soda
1/5 to 1/4 teaspoon food colouring (liquid or powder form)
4 drops of essential oil
Water in spray bottles (they don't need much water)

In a bowl, mix together citric acid and baking soda. Make sure they are well mixed.
Add the food colouring - stir while adding and break up any lumps
Add essential oil drops - stir while adding and break up any lumps
Start off with 4 sprays of water - stir while adding and break up any lumps, then continue with 2 sprays each time stirring well. Squeeze the mixture to check if it is holding a shape or not.

This is the tricky part, you only want enough water to hold the mixture when it is squeezed in your hand. Too much and it will not hold a shape. Don't despair if it gets a little too wet. Place your mixture in a recycled container (such as a yoghurt or fruit cup container) lined with plastic wrap and leave to dry. Remove when dry - it takes an hour or two.

FACE MASK
What a delightful acitivity. Delicious ingredients, lots of fun and laughter with this one. When you have 10 girls applying face masks, you will find that a fair amount lands on the floor! Perhaps a towel laid at their feet will save a bit of work and can be shaken out later. The girls create their own face mask from the ingredients presented.
Ingredients begin with;
1 Tablespoon of Clay - we used Redmond Clay as our base, purchased from Market of Choice (about $8), I'm certain there will be something similar in pharmacies, natural food stores. One 10oz/283g container for 11 girls and we still have a little over half a container left for future face masks.
1 teaspoon plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon well mashed avocado (1 large avocado was enough, although they would have used more if it was available)
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon camomile tea
1/2 teaspoon oatmeal
1 teaspoon olive oil
flat wooden stirring stick
jar or zip lock bag to mix ingredients in.
mirror/s
thin cucumber slices
wipes/towlettes/handy towels
a rubbish/trash container handy

Begin with their choice of ingredients and adjust for consistency and spreadability. Use the wooden stirring sticks to mix and then to apply to ones face (avoiding the eye area). Adjourn to comfy seats, sit back and relax while the mask does its job (10 to 20 minutes). Each girl enjoyed a drink and lollipop while relaxing with a slice of cucumber placed on each eye.
When ready, discard or nibble cucumber, they can also taste the face mask as it is all natural too, then clean off and feel how soft your skin is. Delightful.

CLEOPATRA'S BATH SALT
Known for her beauty and for bathing in milk, Cleopatra was the last pharoah/ruler/queen of Egypt. As one participant remarked, when we bath in it we will be beautiful - too late, they are already beautiful.
Ingredients - mix in zip lock bag for portability;stir while adding and break up any lumps
1 cup milk powder (cleansing)
1/2 cup epsom salt (relaxing)
1/4 cup baking soda (detoxifying)
once well mixed, add 4 drops of essential oil and mix again.
Make up a label with ingredients, name etc. This quantity will be sufficient for two baths.

BODY GLITTER There are some lovely, little, inexpensive, lip balm sized screw top containers available from craft stores, in the jewellery containers section. I found a pack of 30 approximately 1"diameter by 1" tall or 2.5cm diameter by 2.5cm tall screw top containers for approx $6. Enough for the girls to make two lots of body glitter each, one silver and one gold.
Ingredients;
Aloe Gel - one 6oz/70g tube was plenty for 11 girls, this is dependant on container size.
Fine glitter - in your choice of colours, we used silver and gold. We have large containers of it, smaller ones would have been more than sufficient. A little glitter goes a loooooong way.
tooth pick for mixing
screw top containers
Tiny label stickers, or paper that girls write on then cellotape to their containers in place of labels.

Fill each little container 1/2 to 3/4 full of Aloe Gel, and stir in 1/2 a teaspoon of glitter. Mix well and it is ready to use. Apply sparingly to forhead, cheeks, arms for that added glimmer. Thicker applications give a more visible sparkle.

As I said earlier, two hours wasn't enough, we spilled over for another 1/2 hour so that we might have our cake and eat it too, parents seemed relaxed and happy to chat. We never made it to the nail painting, make up applying stage. The plan is to invite each of the party participants home on a play date, one at a time, to indulge in nail painting and makeup. There are inexpensive (approx $2 to $3) nail art lacquers available for applying decorations on top of nail colour. Flowers, stripes, initials, patterns all look beautiful and are much admired by the girls. If you google images for eye make up looks, you will find some lovely, arty, dramatic, outlandish eye make up ideas for the girls to try. We also have some no tears, natural eye makeup remover that is very helpful.

A fun filled two hours, one very happy birthday girl who was full of love and appreciation for her day. What a lovely reward. This was a great birthday party. May yours be just as wonderful, Desray

Saving the day and the tiles!

2012-01-03T21:32:00.000-08:00

Well as you know, my first lot of coasters were a botch job. After I had discovered that they marked with the weight and heat of a cup of coffee, I tried spraying them with a clear gloss sealant that is heat resistant to 200 degrees F.

That sounds all good and dandy, however after the second coat something happened. It wrinkled, leaving the coasters looking like they were textured and me disappointed. I was especially disappointed as I had been so confident, making 30 coasters in all, with cork backings in place, and here they were all wrinkled to varying degrees. The other problem encountered is that the surface still scratched and they were smelly even after a week.

I am thinking an inconsistent temperature when spraying them was responsible for the wrinkles - it is winter the temperature of the room did fluctuate, perhaps at a particularly important moment.......back to the drawing board....

While scouring the internet for answers, I came across one person who had read an inquiry about making heat resistant coasters and then read a seperate article about High Temp Caliper Paint which is not only heat resistant to 900 degrees F, it is also scratch resistant. They kindly placed the two bits of info in the same spot - a welcome bit of knowledge for me.

So where to get the Caliper paint from. I visited a couple of auto part stores to no avail. One of them was able to locate some, however it was on the other side of the USA and somewhat in the too hard basket. They did however recommend I go to an automotive paint specialist, who was able to track down four cans in the next state of which two arrived first thing the next morning. Exciting.

This spray is pretty quick and easy to apply. However many coats you apply, they all need to be done within an hour. Well that sure does save the day, within one hour it is all over and done with, great! Then you wait, 7 days then all that is left is curing. Curing takes the form of baking in an oven for one hour at 200 degrees F, that is one of the lowest settings on our oven just above warm.

This time I was a little more thoughtful, and only made two tiles. The first I mod podged the picture on, the second I tried to use the spray to adhere the picture to the tile. Using the spray as an adhesive and sealant did not work, it was fine until the curing process whereby it all lifted off the tile. The second tile turned out beautifully.

The final result is a heat and scratch resistant surface that has very little or no odor. Now the only minor problem, and I don't think I will bother trying to solve it, is that the picture is ever so slightly yellowed. For me it is inconsequential. I have success, so far so good.

Happy new year, make it the best year you possibly can. Enjoy, Desray

Problem solving what sells and what doesn't (at the moment)

2011-12-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been doing a bit of problem solving. When I was at the Corvallis Fall Festival, one of our guild members went around and noted that none of the fine arts exhibitors were selling original artworks/paintings. Those who were selling stocked smaller, less expensive items in the $5 to $40 range.

The three other members I was exhibiting with did ok. We pretty much covered our entry costs mostly with cards and prints, although one member did sell more than us with her journals. The Festival wasn't one of those wow moments where you thought, yes, this is good, I am motivated to do more.

So, if original artworks aren't flying off the shelf so to speak, how might I present my artwork so that it does. A friend and I started brainstorming, from the list I constructed I have made a number of coffee coasters, mod podging my artwork onto tiles. Now that is all good. I figure that I can make about 30 in a day from start to final coat. That would be one long day with many breaks in between. The final look is great and would be a smaller and less expensive offering at the next art festival.

The whole process involves an undercoat of mod podge to apply the picture, then two more coats on top of that, followed by 3 coats of polyeurathane, then another 3 coats of heat resistant coatings. The problem that I have found is, that they still mark. We left the coasters to dry for a good 48 hours before using. They were certainly dry to the touch and felt fine, they certainly looked great. Then when my husband put a hot cup on the tile, it marked. I was certainly disappointed in the coffee coaster, and so it is back to the drawing board and the search for a final coating that will save the day and the tiles!

The idea of entering festivals while also selling art, is to spread the word and become known. Handing out business cards with your etsy or other websites you sell on, is an important part of it all. That allows prospective customers to make a purchase at their leisure, over the internet from the comfort of their own home. I have made a committment to enter 4 festivals in the forthcoming year, getting out there and being visible is an exciting prospect.

Happy new year, have a fun safe time with your family.
Desray

Bend, Oregon, USA

2011-12-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

We spent a night in Bend, Oregon during the nine days the children had off for thanks giving. The drive over was beautiful. It made me smile and I thought of my young nephew Cody, who saw snow for the first time as a five year old. He would have delighted in the scene. The fresh snow looked like icing sugar had been sprinkled over all the trees landing in soft clumps. Reminiscent of a christmas card from my childhood.

Bend has a lot of outdoor sports on offer. It was voted top mountain biking destination in the USA, there is plenty of skiing, fishing and rock hounding areas to be found, plus great walks to go on. Brent and the children walked up Pilot Butte and were rewarded with great views. Around the mountain in summer there are beautiful lakes and streams, with wonderful camping. So for our family there are many attractions. Bend is also handy to an airport for Brent, and it is a city so has all the city shops on offer as well. As for the weather, it is high desert, so drier and a little colder in winter and hotter in summer with plenty of sunshine either way.

We just feel it would be a good place to live, so had a look around at about 15 houses that were for sale in the Northwest and Southwest. Out of those we narrowed it down to three houses of which only one was still available. It was a duplex and we hadn't been able to have a good look from the road. Brent was not interested in it once we got inside. One side was bleak, the other better and brighter, the entire thing needed work. Although he is incredibly talented, it wasn't something that Brent wanted to dedicate himself to. So in the end, none of the houses we looked at were of much use.

The realestate agent put us on her automated list so that we would get updates as they came to hand. On Monday night a new house came up and we were alerted. It was a short sale, so the owners were looking for offers to purchase their house and would take one to the bank or as in this case the banks (being two of them) to see if they would accept the highest offer they had come up with.

Brent went over Tuesday morning and put in an offer by Tuesday afternoon before coming home. The house is a 3 bed 2 bath, on a small lot. It is in good condition, you would be able to live in it without doing anything. It is on a good street and would rent easily enough. The price is right for us. So as of this afternoon we were the only ones who had put in an offer, the listing agent is putting offers to the owners tomorrow and we should know by 1.30pm if they are interested etc. Exciting!

I trust the sun is shining in your slice of paradise!

Desray

Mist embraced tree, is an original 12 inch by 6 inch
original painting by Desray. I loved the way themist
swirled around and enveloped the tree while the pasture
in the foreground stood bright and uncovered in contrast.
See more of my work at desray.etsy.com

The things children remember us saying!

2011-12-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Isn't it funny what children remember? The other night my daughter was dragging the chain. It was past her bedtime and she was supposed to be in her pj's, with teeth brushed and in bed. What I heard was my daughter singing at the top of the stairs, what I saw was her dancing while watching her shadow on the wall. What I said was "I do not want to see you dancing or hear you singing. In fact I do not want to see you unless you are in bed."

The next morning I go in and give her a kiss, she pushes me away and says, "why are you here, you don't want to see me." I assured her I did want to see her, that is what mums love, now lets get up and cracking. "BUT last night you said you didn't want to see me!" "Actually what I said was I didn't want to see your cute self dancing and singing at the top of the stairs when it is bed time." That brought a grin to her face. "Do you know that I come in and kiss you each night whether you are awake or asleep?" "Really?" "Really." With that she was up, happy and off to school.

I later thought, isn't it funny what part of a sentence children remember. A wise friend once told me that we are used to being raised with the negativeas in "don't fall off the chair", "you'll get hurt doing that", and that is how we express things. What I might say next time is …. I want to see you in bed, now! Short and too the point, unmistakeable really. Well I suppose it all depends what one hears and remembers.

Here is one of my latest paintings. Enjoy your day and your family.

Desray

Trio, a set of three 4 x 4 inch painted canvases mounted on
repurposed wood that is full of character.
See more of my artwork at desray.etsy.com

Identity crisis

2011-11-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

Arrived back in the USA to cold weather, truck loads of walnuts and leaves on the ground. One day we were on top of the situation, the next it looks like a magical carpet of yellow leaves - there are at least a dozen trees around the house, let your imagination wander!

Since mum passed away I have been thinking about lots of things. When I sat in the Art Center doing my share of being artist on site, I looked around and thought well, my paintings just kind of merge in with everyone elses. Hmmm. I'm so different to everyone here, why am I doing artwork that is similar to theirs? Doing similar stuff is not going to make me stand out. So there you go, sometimes it takes a momentos moment for changes to come about.

So my action plan involves lots of sketching and painting. Here are some of the results so far;

Greenstone
have a closer look at
desray.etsy.com

Wave rider
a set of three 4x4inch canvases
displayed on recycled wood
see more at desray.etsy.com

Given an opportunity

2011-11-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

I am really good at taking care of myself and my family - or so I thought. When I would chat with mum about my overall health I would assure her I was indeed looking after myself - taking care of my weight, eathing healthy, exercising. All good intentions. In reality, I always strive to eat healthy however took care of the exercising and weight when I was able to squeeze it in around family life.

Fast forward to two months ago. Physically I wasn't coping. Lifting anything even a full milk bottle, now hurt. Walking hurt. Playing was out of the question.

Part of my nature is to be optomistic. So having booked in for a 2nd epidural to help ease the back pain. I felt excited in anticipation of being pain free. After the epidural I told mum that I was going to put my health first. Her reply "you always say that then life gets busy and you put yourself on the back burner." The second epidural didn't have the effect that I desired, my participation in the Corvallis Fall Festival had me in tears walking to and from the Corvallis Art Guild marquee. I relied heavily on my gorgeous children to set up and ferry my painting to and fro. Things were going to improve, just not right now.

My beautiful, clever, loving, caring mum passed away, far too young and far too soon. My last conversation with her echoes ..." you always say that..."

A week after mums funeral, I took ill. Excruciating stomach paints reminiscent of giving birth, slung down low, washed over me. Possibilities - kidney stones or appendix. A trip to the Emergency Room at the hospital resulted in the removal of my appendix and the beginning of my recovery.

Someone was looking after me. One blessing was that all of this took place in my home country of New Zealand. Because of the health care system there my 3 day stay cost me nothing financially. That removed all the stress out of being hospitalised and allowed me to concentrate on recovery. The second blessing was that my back improved out of sight. It still ached, however I was standing straighter than ever and so much more capable. The third, I lost a ton of weight and aim to maintain. it.

I like to call it "taking care of business", so with mums words still resonating I decided on a plan The first thing that came to me was if I'm going to follow through with taking care of business first thing in the morning before the day gets busy is the most opportune time.

Taking care of business looks like
1. Apart from using the bathroom, I try to stay in my bedroom each morning until after morning stretches and exercises. It helps that the children want and are dedicated to making their own school lunch each day.
2.Committing to cycling for approximately one hour three times a week. I do this straight after the children have gone to school. It also requries me to look ahead and chose days, regardless of the weather.
3. Ensure salads, cereal and fruit are a big part of my diet. I do not beat myself up about having a cookie, however I also don't always need a whole cookie let along two or three and am happy to break a chunk off to satisfy myself.
4. monitor my weight, I bought scales, just so I'm not guessing.

Taking care of business feels like;
1. a weight off my shoulders literally.
2. being gifted an opportunity
3.setting a better example for my children
4. giving my family the best of me, a more capable, healthy mum and wife.
5. exercising control and discipline

So here I am doing it, taking care of business, taking care of me and ultimately taking care of my family in doing so. So far so good.

Alaskan Native Heritage Centre, Anchorage

2011-11-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic place the Native Alaskan Heritage Center turned out to be. Unfortunately we got there with about an hour and quarter to go until they closed, wish we had more time. It was absolutely riveting. We whisked our way around the lake, stopping to hear from different tribes about their stories, daily life, how things were done. Red spruce is a repellant to mosquitos and other insects. Must remember that one. Better than deet any day, smells good too. Woman learned to hunt as well, just in case their men never returned. Boys learned to sew, also just in case their female relations disappeared.

They used spotted seal skins for regular clothing shirts and trousers. They were difficult to wash and dry, yet on the other hand very hard wearing. The warmest skins were caribou's winter pelt. Clothes made from these were given to pregnant women, the elderly and hunters since they kept them warmest. When the Russians arrived, the indians took a liking to their smock which was soft and easy to wash, modifying it with pockets for holding extra collections like berries and hoods to help with mosquitos.

Indian lodges would hold 50 to 100 people with small doors, only large enough for 1 person at a time to get through. Then raiders could only enter one at a time, easier to defend. They used a 3 to 5 inch plug as a door at night to stop raiders. Raiders were after the other tribes tools and foods that they didn't have. This happened even when they traded. I personally think it must have also provided a form of excitement and daring for young people. The door also resticted brown bears/grizzly's entering. Bears were very common then and children knew to check outside before stepping outside. They used volcanic rock vessels filled with seal oil or whale oil as lighting and also for heat and cooking. The wick was moss.

Men and woman used a walrus tipped staff with a walrus tusk set at a 45 degree angle from the main shaft. It was used to check the ice was strong enough to hold you for walking on. The walrus hook was especially useful for ice hopping, if a piece was too far away you could hook it and pull it closer, it was also useful if you fell in the water, you could reach up to solid ice and haul yourself out.

There were lots of native artisans with their wares out. Oh to have more time, why did I go to JC Pennys! Both my darlings after saying that they just wanted to go home instead of stop here, declared it was really worth while. For me it was the highlight of Anchorage.

Fun in Anchorage

2011-11-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

So today we did Anchorage – Earthquake Park, Lake Hood where all the float planes are kept, the Alaskan Aviation Museum, Ulu factory which was fascinating – they are making a knife that has been used since the times of the early indians, JC Penny – we went there since we've never been to one before and I won't be going to another either, then last but by no means least the Native Alaskan Heritage Center.

Now we don't usually buy ready made food, however since we were on a flying trip, backpackers and all plus I didn't have the cooker with me, this time we did. We stopped in at Carr's also known as Safeway (a big supermarket) and they had all sorts of stuff in their deli section. We all chose either a salad and then something hot since the weather was cool. There was mexican, chinese, american …. you name it, it was there. Reagan chose sesame chicken. Oh she said, it's good. We should go back and get a big container to share.

Outside the Alaskan Aviation Museum, right on Lake Hood

The Aviation Museum had a flight simulation machine which is always popular with my family. There was a sign that junior pilots required adult supervision. I am happy for them to have a good go. So waited patiently while the both took a turn. Then said it's time to move on, which we did. When I turned around our girl had disappeared, so I went back and here she was on the simulator again. Insert a big voice here - I'm alright, I'm an adult! When we were outside checking out the Alaskan Airlines plane they had open for inspection, she touched and opened everything. Now on a good day she would have touched and opened, however this day you would swear her hands were shaking she just had to, and I mean had to touch everything at such a great speed, even stuff that was sign posted “do not use”. I couldn't believe the transformation. Honestly she needed a straight jacket, she was like an energizer battery that wouldn't stop. Looking back, I'm thinking the sesame chicken might have had some colour or additive that set her off. Needless to say we didn't go back for more.

Anchorage here we come!

2011-11-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

Next stop Anchorage.

Why do we have to go? That was how our trip to Anchorage started. Surprisingly it went quite quickly. First stop the tourism information center. Now, accommodation is very pricey in Alaska, and also in short supply when one hasn't booked in advance. So it was the Alaska backpackers for us. The first backpackers the children had stayed in. It was all that we needed with 4 bunk beds in a room all to ourselves.

We arrived at mid day, so decided the best plan of attack would be to drive half way to Seward and about 10 miles south of Girdwood to the Alaska conservation center. The road is mountains one side and sea the other. Bradley caught sight of a beluga whale, which apparently roam in groups of 20 to 30 in this area during the summer. Unfortunately I had to keep my eyes on the road, much to my disgust and had to wait for some distance to pull off the road.

At the Conservation Centre, I got some fantastic photos of grizzly bears, the rare musk ox, caribou which are also called reindeer – by golly they are tiny things with great racks where the antlers are about the same height as the reindeer. Two abandoned moose babies were huge despite their young age – about the size of a horse and two herds of bush bison of which one herd will be released in 2013, that was exciting to read about.

An official had just thrown some apples to the bears while we were there and they had a little cabin the bears went into to try and find it, got some great shots of that. We also saw a bald eagle which had been shot at and had to have its wing amputated, plus two owls whose home had been invaded by a silly magpie, how it got in who knows. The magpie sent the owls into a spin when someone tried to shoo it out without much luck. They were also preparing an enclosure for two female lynx cubs who were in a forest fire with paws that were badly burned. The glaciers in the background looked eerie with blue ice shining through.

Brown Bear painting, by Desray

The tough side of Alaska

2011-11-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Read the saddest story in the local frontiersman newspaper. The title is “Some students just want a bed of their own” Here is a little of what the article said; The district identified more than 900 students who were either homeless or don't have a stable place to call home. Some students are younger (primary school aged) children and either living at local church shelters or with friends, teens couch surfing etc. More than 300 of them were at the one high school. All having to figure out where your next meal is coming from or where you're going to sleep that night, if they will get to shower, some haven't seen mum or dad for 3 or 4 months.

Get this, “..recalls the desperate look on the face of one girl who had her backpack stolen. Everything she had in the world, including clothing, was in it........ The look of a young man who was talking about “how it's so undignified to not have a place to put your stuff, …....It's not like I'm looking for luxuries like running water or electricity.” Can you imagine what it might be like here in winter when temperatures plummet to minus 72 F? Well I for one felt like crying reading that. I had visions of opening up a school boarding house. My god, these things tie you in knots. One positive action is the school authorities are having a stuff the bus project to supply students with school supplies. That is a little something that we can contribute to. I am so appreciative of what I have and what my darlings have, oh how we take these things for granted.

Humpy Derby

2011-11-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

After lying in bed this morning and sleeping so well that we missed our alarm, my darlings hummed and harred. Reagan said, don't sign me up I'd rather stay home and relax. Bradley just didn't know. I said, well Anchorage will be there tomorrow or the next day, the fishing derby won't. You've never been in a fishing competition before, let's give it one go and then you will know for the next time. Only Bradley was convinced. So we arrived around 9.30am, signed up paid our $15 and toodled out.

By 11am Bradley had his first fish. Despite or due to the wonderful instructions that Reagan and I were issuing, I'm not sure which. We had no measuring stick, so kind of guessed it was in the 20inch range so were ecstatic to find it in the front at 23 inches. Trying not to build his hope up too much, I assured Bradley that he had not yet won, that there were still four hours to go and anyone at any stage might whip in with a bigger fish. By 2pm he had entered his second fish, the first was still in the lead. The guys at the station were telling me that there were some big prizes and I had to stop them. You know how it is when someone brings your hopes up, then at the last minute you don't win. So we disappeared for the rest of the hour resting up since we were all pretty buggared with all the walking we had had to do.

When we turned up to the prize giving, Bradley said, I heard someone has come in with a 23.25 inch humpy. He was quite ok with it. Then just as prize giving started the judge came over and said, well you still have the overall winning fish. Bradley was stoked. For first in the 13 to 16 age group he won a BMX bike with pegs on the front and back. For biggest overall fish, he won a Devils Canyon jet boat ride for two plus a $25 Gorilla Fireworks voucher. Still it goes on, in the raffle ticket draw, he won a little tackle box full of all sorts of goodies. That is the biggest payback on a $15 entry we have ever had. Of course from now on Bradley will be dead keen to enter every other fishing competition known to man.

Well I thought humpies had already spawned. Not always so. That's what we found when we opened up Bradley's fish that day. Tonight is baked humpy seasoned italian seasoning with bacon laying over the top accompanied by fried rice, just because it's easy. They are an oilier fish though, so will try and think of something that will compliment that for the second one he caught.

Yep the winning fish is so big the photo has to go on it's side,
no really, it's the blogger who is unable to rotate the photo!

All in a day

2011-11-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

"Just to let you know" (that is one of my daughters favourite sayings), we have been buying New Zealand apples over here. Gala apples at $1.99lb ($4 a kg) from Fred Myer's in Wasilla, and Braeburn apples at $1.69lb (approx $3.70kg), from Cubbys at Talkeetna. We are at the very end of the road here and I didn't think it was too bad considering. NZ apples are comforting for some reason.

Stopped in at the kids fishing derby on the way home. Would have signed my darlings up except we didn't have the right amount of cash on us and they had no zip zap machine. It's a humpy derby, so have grown a great hump on their back after spawning and are going to die. Will see what happens tomorrow when we have to get up early. I presently have one that is willing and one golden haired child who would just like to hang out and go to the library. Actually being Sunday I think it will be closed, so that decision is made. Reagan and I will make our own fun. Probably try directing her brother at some stage, unsuccessfully of course since he's a boy with a mind of his own.

Watched a delightful programme on the box tonight, Black Grace dance company. Originating in Porirua, Auckland. Pretty cool contemporary mix of NZ cultures, mostly Samoan. They put on a good show. Wonderful to see the work and effort that goes into a show, and wonderful to see them rise to the top of their genre.

Talkeetna here we come!

2011-11-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

What a great trip. The road to Talkeetna has little interesting places spotted along the way. Great fishing spots, a birchwood syrup factory, a kids fishing derby. So much to see. When you get to Talkeetna you understand why, it's a little tourist trap. People everywhere!

First stop, the little old visitors center, way out in the middle of nowhere just at the turnoff. What a good choice that was. Then on to Birch Syrup. Well I have heard of maple syrup. Birch syrup? It is delightful, a bit like golden syrup or treacle without a sickly sweet taste, still sweet though. There is only one other group who harvest significant quantities of birch syrup that they know of. It takes 110 gallons of birch sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. They tap trees 8” or more and use a reverse osmosis machine to seperate the water out and then boil down the remainder. Apparently in Russia, they drink the sap straight, it is like ever so lightly sweetened water with calcium, potassium and manganese. Who would have guessed. Makes one look at birch trees in a different light.

Next stop Talkeetna itself. My first thoughts were; old fashioned setting, full of hippies, dirt/gravel roads, and despite the loads of tourists by the bus-full everywhere, I loved it. This is a really quite a small town center that is reminiscent of the olden days and brings in huge numbers of people. We visited the town market where Reagan chose a lovely little necklace with coloured glass, then a couple of bits of Alaskan gold with clear glass fused on top. Next stop, a wonderful museum.

The Talkeetna airstrip in the middle of town!

Then on to the ranger station where all Denali/Mt McKinley climbers have to sign in, pay $200 to register and go through a ranger training session before their ascent. Only 50% of those who attempt to climb Denali are successful. Tax payers money rescues those who are unable to come down themselves. We watched a wicked video showing people climbing up and down Denali. Sitting out incredibly severe weather even though it is summer, being rescued, being treated for injuries such as swelling of the brain when one hasn't given ones body enough time to acclimatise. They are all issued personal tins for toileting in, everything that goes up has to come down, and so it does. No oxygen is used on Denali, so they can really only climb 1000ft a day. Not my thing – the climbing part, much too old and far too unambitious in that department. Although, as we sat in the Talkeetna Roadhouse having a reindeer pasty, there were plenty of young guys who looked loaded up and rearing to give it a go.

Talkeetna Road House with live music,
a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Blueberries and bogberries!

2011-10-31T15:50:00.001-07:00

I have discovered that the blueberries we have been picking are called Bog Blueberry which are found in bogs, woodlands and wet and dry tundra. We have been picking in wet tundra. It is such a lovely feeling out on the tundra. There is all this spongy moss underfoot and you kind of try to step from one mound to another, often sinking yet never hitting anything solid. There are gentle river lets of water in the low lying areas, so getting wet feet is just part of the experience. I love the feeling, almost like walking on a trampoline. When you look around, everything except the scattered spindly spruce trees is low lying. Then you spot these dark blue oval, juicy and tart fruit. If you are lucky the little bush will be loaded and you can just place your container under and run your fingers through the foliage to dislodge them. I like that feeling too. Otherwise it is individual picking, and then the fruit is larger. The fruit makes great jam and tasty pancakes, it's the blueberry bar that is truly delightful.

This recipe that I got off allrecipes.com can be used for other fruit too;

Mix ¾ cup cugar, 2 cups flour, tsp baking powder
rub in ¾ cup butter to resemble crumbs
Add 1 beaten egg and mix well (use 2 eggs if they're small)
sprinkle have of the crumbed mixture in the bottom of a baking tin. Pack down solid.
Spread with 2 cups cranberry sauce or blueberry (add sugar if tart) and crumble remaining mix over top.
Bake 40 minutes at 350 F until top is golden. Cool then slice

Oh no!

2011-10-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

The children and I will come up with a plan of action for the next couple of days. One of which will involve shooting down to our favourite fishing spot since we've had clear weather for the last couple of days it's given it a chance for the water to clear up a bit. I'll also go in and get a local newspaper today just in case something interesting is happening around here. Would like to head for Anchorage on an overnighter and Fairbanks at some stage. Fairbanks is quite a haul, so will plan that one, perhaps for when Brent is away again.

The weather is overcast, yet dry. River was clear, loads of fish, getting the right one to take our line was a little trickier. We returned home empty handed. However there was plenty of fun and games.

Today was Reagan's day for whoopsies. First of all she put the lucky Canadian quarter (which was a celebration of children quarter) that she had been given by a lady in the bank at Whistler, on the rail track, instead of a normal US quarter. That is now a flattened piece of metal which you can still slightly discern the pattern, if you squint your eyes and tilt your head just right. Of course she only realised once it was over and done with, declaring I should have known that the US coin doesn't have the Queen of England on it, OH NO! Then she hooked the rocks and we had to struggle to get our jig back. After which she was quite illegal, and despite both Bradley and I yelling “NO, Don't!” She did.

coin imprint - not the lucky one!

You see, the problem is, there are so many fish in the water, when you are very young you feel like you might just like to scoop one up with your net. For no particular reason other than to say yes, it is possible. Well she was on net duty, and went oooooooh, look, I could just scoop one up. This is the part where we yell. But it was too late, she did. Scooped up the biggest ugliest spawned out looking thing you might imagine, with a jaw on it, that, well Bradley described it as having teeth that resembled a starfish. Of course it opened its mouth and got entangled in the net when she was trying to release it. If you had sound you would hear a lot of squealing, fish flapping about and children yelling while this is happening. Bradley had to use the pliers to unhook the net from the poor thing. It took a moment before it was off again. We headed home after that.

Some of the treasures we found.

Fishing

2011-09-16T03:35:00.000-07:00

The view of Denali from Willow

The day had cleared for the first time this week, blue sky, Mount Denali as a magnificent backdrop when I drove home with the kids. It's a wonder that there aren't a few accidents with people mesmerised by the scenery.

Horseshoe lake didn't result in the large catch we thought we might bag. Despite having all the local knowledge in our favour – night crawlers, corn and just the right jigs. Rain for the last week may have had something to do with it. Regardless it was magical. Brent and the children were out, a ripple making its presence across the lake and those magnificent mountains in the distance. If only I had my paints on me.

A couple of things we did see, one was a young muskrat swimming in the water and diving under every now and then. Brent and the kids saw a loon and its beautiful plummage, also diving. Then when everyone was out of the water and we had loaded the boat into the van, I noticed that Bradley had a leaf stuck just under his ankle and said stop, so that I could brush it off before he got in. Except that it didn't brush off, and if felt slippery, and it stuck in the one spot regardless of which direction I swished in. I quickly came to the conclusion that a leech had attached itself to his ankle. He said you could only feel it if you concentrated. So Brent burnt it off, and that was interesting in itself. The leech kind of melted barely leaving a mark on Bradley's ankle and then fell off, right into Brent's sandal and was quickly flicked out. A little bit of excitement for the evening.

Fishing on Horseshoe Lake, Alaska

Rain rain, go away!

2011-09-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

There has been so much rain that the river is muddy coloured and despite our best efforts, the little side pond we have discovered was also brown, leaving us unable to discern which fish we would like to try and catch. Bradley is not interested in pulling in anything but a keeper, whereas Reagan just loves the thrill of hooking a big one and hauling it in, while the fish puts up a mean fight. It sure gets her squealing. She even had the cheek to tell Bradley he better get in the water to net that really difficult fish that just had other ideas about coming in. Of course he was quick to swat that idea away and let her know all about it. It sure is fun watching and listening to them, I am also very pleased at how capable they are taking care of fishing business.

We had a real lark late this afternoon. We have brought 2 bikes with us, which is fine except when we three decided to go collecting cranberries. So we doubled up, Reagan riding on the handle bars. Nice quiet country roads and lots of laughing from all of us. Bradley was keen to be doubled too, not sure how I would have handled that though. We quickly found a good patch of cranberries and I set about collecting while my two larked about squishing berries and laughing about the results – Bradley got a surprise cranberry face wash.

High bush cranberries

So now we have blueberry jam, raspberry jam, raspberry juice and now cranberries. We sure are spoilt, although I'm not sure how we would store much more.

Melon berries, good for fillers

Gold in them hills!

2011-09-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

A big day out, back in the car. It's drizzly and cold. The kind of winter weather you might expect in New Zealand or Oregon in the middle of winter. We are heading into the hills, to Hatchers Pass. Hatcher was the first person to look for gold/put in a claim. Later there was quite a gold mining industry that was built up on the mountain side.

We stopped on the way to cast a fishing line in the river, which was somewhat dirty, you never know though! Then grabbed the pans out of the car and had a go at panning for gold. Needless to say Brent will have to continue to work. Brent and the kids walked up the side of a couple of mountains into the icy stuff, I walked ¾ up one steep one and then we walked the mine.

The Hatcher valley opens up and looks down towards Palmer. The day was cold and bleak. The water that runs down the hillside would be freezing all the time. There was still snow on the tops surrounding the gold mine and it is the middle of summer. Trips into town would be a once a year event if you were lucky. I read one story where a lady hung her laundry outside expecting it to freeze dry and woke to find it covered in snow. Although the scenery was stunning with beautiful tarns, I am way too soft and would never have wished for a life there.

Fishing

2011-09-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Second day fishing and Reagan was determined to have a go too. She had been complaining to me that she wasn't even allowed to hold the line let alone the net! Our girl got hold of that rod the next morning and boy she wasn't going to let go of it, even when she did hook a tree and the small branch had to be cut so that we could get our lure out.

Well talk about squeal. She hooked the grandaddy of all salmon, he must have been about 20 pounds and was a real fighter. It was fun to watch her, of course she was busy issuing orders at the same time to Bradley who was working the net. Reagan was very disappointed when we had her put him back. She was very keen on eating him, however once they are coloured like that one was, they have spawned and don't taste pleasant at all. We weren't willing to indulge her on this request.

Can you make out all the salmon in there? There is no substitute for polarised glasses!

Since we could actually see all the fish in this pool, Bradley was more picky about which one he would take, aiming for a nice sized, silver salmon. He hooked a nice five pound pink, full of eggs. We have kept some and will ask what people do with them. Otherwise they will go out.

Have also made another discovery – Alaskans use jars to drink out of. The family we stayed with used them, even at the swanky lodge they used them. Like agee jars, they are perfectly fine for drinking out of too. Here in our cabin they have glasses. I asked my family why that might be. The answer, the owners are from Michigan, they're not Alaskan.

The entire family are enjoying themselves. I am kept busy on the end of the camera and collecting berries, I've made some very tasty raspberry jam from the ones I collected. Brent is busy advising, organising and directing. Both children are the only fishers in the family and they are hooked. What fun, so far the verdict is that we'd be happy coming back here each summer.

We have brownie in the oven and then we are off to explore Big Lake and stop by Brent's work. Our fish is ready for dinner tonight, can't wait. Picked wild blueberries along the road side. I am in heaven. Raspberries, blueberries, what's next?

Willow Cabin

2011-09-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

The cabin here in Willow is perfectly respectable. One large bedroom upstairs and the living area, kitchen and bathroom downstairs. They aren't nearly as flash as the two we previously stayed in, however they are perfectly livable.

Across the drive from us the owners run a RV campground. Not many staying there though, it's ok, just not as picturesque as other overnight spots. We are well away from them, with three identical cabins all around the same size as ours. The owners live in one and rent the other two out. We are on the outside.

Now to catch some very very large fish. We have arrived at the perfect fishing destination and spot. Next stop - the river! Apparently the sun must follow us. They have had a lot of light rain up until now, it has been light, but sufficient to dirty up the rivers.

First day fishing was at the Willow Park further down the road from us, hundreds of people – well it seemed like it. There were several large salmon that were pulled in. It was fun watching although we did tire of waiting for our turn.

I said hi to a couple of woman who were walking down near me and asked if they knew what the berries we were walking beside were. Being native Alaskans, they were happy to share. I loved it, tasting high bush cranberries and watermelon berries. Must say the cranberries were rather sour. These ladies also told me that rose hips were high in vitamin C, so very popular. Lucia had given Brent rose hip fruit leather, he had a cold and rose hips are some of the highest vitamin C you can get. These ladies further confirmed it. One of them was diabetic and she dehydrated and powder her rose hips to use as a tea.

Next stop Willow creek, just down from our cabin. You walk for about 5 minutes across the railway track and down the bank. Trains give you plenty of notice that they are coming, plus they toot their horn before they get to the track. We are perfectly safe.

Fishing below the train track

You should see them, there must have been at least 50 salmon of different varieties in this one pool off to the side of the river. It was quite an incredible sight. Anyway, they are in different stages of spawning. The ones we are after are the pink and also the silver salmon. Bradley hooked a 20 pound pink that was all coloured up, so that went back.

There were loads of salmon in this little side pool

It was getting late and I had a loaf of bread in the oven, so returned home earlier than the others. I was just over the railroad track and heard a shot, like a gun shot. Thought shoot, there must have been a bear and they let the bear popper off. So I stopped and waited and listened. Nothing else, no squeals, no shouting. I continued on. About ¾ of an hour later they returned. Was it you guys who let off the shot? What shot? Don't know what you're talking about. We were talking to the owner that morning and he said that in the two years he had been here he hadn't even seen a bear. So it wasn't even my family, the sound must have travelled from up river somewhere.

When we left the pool there was one less salmon in there, Bradley kept a beautiful 5 pound pink, in good condition and especially tasty to eat. That was our breakfast for the next morning.